Cannes Lions 2016: The awards are about being big – but is big overrated? June 20, 2016 Size has always mattered at Cannes. It’s the biggest celebration of creativity in communications in the world, famous for attracting the biggest names to its keynote speeches from celebrities and politicians to advertising legends. It’s about big ideas. Big data. Big, bold brand promises. Even the after parties are industry competitions to play the best music, [...]
Cannes 2016: Of Mad Men and Maths Men – Is it not time for fewer awards with a greater focus on integrated work June 20, 2016 As we enter adland’s largest global conference, its dramatic evolution over the last few years is evident. Once all about the creative work, it is now split over three distinct districts – the Palais creative hub, the tech media giants on the beach and ad tech alley near the port. In 2014 and 2015, I was [...]
Cannes 2016: Marketers will be talking about whether virtual reality has real legs June 20, 2016 Virtual reality (VR) used to be the stuff of science fiction. But it has already taken us on trips to the Great Barrier Reef, Abbey Road Studios and the moon. What’s next? Could it bring us closer to brands? Marketers at Cannes will be debating if this new medium has legs of the non-virtual kind. When [...]
Here’s where Britain’s national newspapers stand on the EU referendum June 19, 2016 Britain's national Sunday newspapers have taken a side in the EU referendum on the last weekend before the nation heads to the polls. The Sunday Times has backed Brexit, in contrast to its weekday edition, The Times and its fellow Rupert Murdoch-owned News UK title The Sun, which urged readers to "beLEAVE in Britain" last week. In an editorial [...]
Cannes Lions 2016: The sun may shine over La Croisette next week, but storm clouds are gathering over advertising agencies June 17, 2016 Next week, the great and good of the advertising world will descend on the south of France for the Cannes Lions, the industry’s annual jamboree. Awards will be distributed, backs will be slapped and rosé will be consumed by the case. While the sun sets over La Croisette, however, the storm clouds are gathering for the [...]
Subscription services on the rise for pay monthly Brits, survey shows June 16, 2016 UK consumers are increasingly opting to pay a monthly fee to subscribe to a service, rather than buy it outright, new research has shown. A whopping 40m Brits (78 per cent of the adult population) are now subscribing to at least one product or service. Video streaming services are amongst the most popular kind of subscription [...]
Sky rebrands Movies to Cinema as it regroups amid growing competition from online streaming sites June 15, 2016 Broadcaster Sky is hoping a change to its popular film channels will be able to arrest the recent downward trend in its share price. TV networks around the world are battening down the hatches against a rising tide of competition. From 8 July, Sky will premiere a new film every day on its movie channels. [...]
Affectv founder Glen Calvert talks hiring and firing in a fast-growth firm June 14, 2016 It's a sign of the times that Glen Calvert, now 33 and with over seven years’ experience managing startups, doesn’t see himself as a young entrepreneur. Nonetheless, getting stuck in with his first company at 25 meant the learning curve was steep. He had passion, drive, and knowledge of his industry. What he lacked was experience [...]
The next internet: AppNexus CEO Brian O’Kelley lays out his vision for the programmable age June 13, 2016 At six foot five, there isn’t much which can dwarf Brian O’Kelley. His adtech company AppNexus, which allows marketers and publishers to buy and sell advertising space in real-time, has grown exponentially since its founding in 2007. Today, the firm’s ad-serving infrastructure processes 5m requests per second at peak periods, facilitating an estimated $2bn of transactions [...]
Here’s how many people tuned in to the first England game June 12, 2016 Roy Hodgson's team may have ended up with a draw on Saturday evening, but broadcaster ITV is certainly celebrating a win. England's opening game against Russia has netted ITV its biggest audience of the year so far. The broadcaster's audience during the first England game of the tournament peaked at 14.1m, becoming the biggest show of the [...]